Yesterday marked the seven-year anniversary of the Trump tax legislation. In 2017, when President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress passed the bill, they promised these historic tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and large corporations would “trickle down” to everyday people through increased wages and a booming economy. Seven years later, billionaire wealth has reached historic highs and middle- and working-class people struggle to make ends meet. In response, Americans for Tax Fairness released the following statement.

“After 7 years, we know the true impacts of the Trump tax policy—it didn’t pay for itself, raise wages, or generate the promised economic growth. Instead, it redirected trillions from public investments to wealthy elites, creating record income inequality and expanding their political influence through accumulated wealth,” said ATF Executive Director David Kass. “Now Trump and his allies in Congress want to spend trillions to extend this harmful policy to further enrich and entrench his billionaire backers. Every member of Congress understands who truly benefits from this policy. They must decide which side they’re on: the wealthy elite or middle- and working-class Americans.”

False Claims vs Reality

Claim #1: The 2017 tax reforms primarily benefited average-income earners.

Reality:

• Analysis shows individuals earning above $500,000 received tax reductions 76 times greater than those making under $100,000 in 2019.
• Those with incomes exceeding $1 million got breaks 335 times larger than earners below $50,000 in 2019.

Claim #2: The 2017 tax reforms stimulated economic expansion and boosted federal income.

Reality:

• The legislation actually reduced income: Under the legislation, business tax payments decreased by billions while tax revenue compared to GDP declined.
• Economic impact was minimal: Research indicates the business tax changes only increased GDP by 0.04%, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that extending these reductions would negatively impact long-term growth.

Claim #3: These tax changes are budget-neutral and decrease government shortfalls.

Reality:

• Supply-side economic policies have consistently failed to be self-funding. They’ve contributed $10T to national debt in recent decades, and would cost another $4.6T if extended.
• Their actions contradict their claims – why debate debt ceiling increases if these cuts generate sufficient revenue?

Even their selected experts confirm extending the reductions won’t offset their cost.